Before leaving, Shen Zheng took two gold ingots shaped like date cakes from Ta Baisha’s saddlebag and pressed them into Wen Zhuo’s palm. “They’re a reward from Father. I had them melted down specially because I wanted to make you an ornament. After thinking it over, I figured you’d like them best this way.”
Wen Zhuo’s eyes suddenly lit up. He brought one of the ingots to his teeth, tempted to bite into it, but his gaze instinctively shifted toward Shen Zheng.
Seeing Shen Zheng watching him with evident amusement, he immediately lowered the ingot and clasped his hands behind his back, putting on a solemn expression. “Your Highness, how childish.”
Shen Zheng raised an eyebrow, then laughed and admitted, “Fine, I’m childish. I probably won’t have a chance to come out today or tomorrow. I’ll come find you the day after tomorrow.”
Wen Zhuo nodded. He then had Jiang Mannü load Ta Baisha up with a full bag of carrots. Only after watching Shen Zheng feed the horse a few himself did he see him off as he rode away.
The moment Shen Zheng disappeared around the corner, Wen Zhuo hurried back to his room and carefully stashed the gold ingots in the little treasury beneath his bed.
Shen Zheng galloped at full speed and barely made it back to the palace around the transition between the hours of Chen and Si. The ancestral rites at the imperial temple had already begun. He strode into the covered corridor and, with perfect justification, squeezed in front of Shen Chen, completely blocking the short, wiry man from view.
Shen Chen could no longer even see the entrance to the hall. His face twitched with anger, yet he forced half a smile onto his lips and said darkly, “Where did Fifth Brother go just now? You weren’t even there for the ritual chant.”
At his words, Shen He and Shen Ting both turned around, their eyes filled with scrutiny.
After the Crown Prince and Prince Xian had fallen, Shen Ting had originally been the foremost among the princes. By old custom, he should have been the one to offer the congratulatory address when they entered the hall to pay their respects. Yet Emperor Shunyuan had not mentioned it at all. This year, he had simply abolished that part of the ceremony.
Anyone with eyes could see that Emperor Shunyuan had no intention of making him Crown Prince.
Once he realized this, Shen Ting felt as though a fishbone were lodged in his throat. Previously, he had still been able to console himself: the Crown Prince and Prince Xian were both legitimate sons of the empress and older than him, so it was only natural that they should rank above him. But now that excuse was gone. He understood completely that Emperor Shunyuan would never allow a cripple to inherit the throne.
He glanced at Shen Zheng with complicated emotions.
On the one hand, he had to admit that Shen Zheng’s reputation had soared and that he was now in the ascendant. The position of Crown Prince would most likely fall to him in the future. If Shen Ting wanted to secure his own position, he would do well to curry favor with this Fifth Brother as soon as possible.
But on the other hand, he was deeply unwilling to accept it.
For some reason, he always felt that all the plans he had spent half his life making had come to nothing. At the Spring Terrace Chess Meet, he had exhausted himself trying to bring the Helian clan into prominence. In the end, the Crown Prince and Prince Xian had inexplicably framed Shen Zheng, dragging the Helian clan into the scheme as well. Shen Zheng had survived the crisis, while more than half of the Eight Branches’ disciples had perished.
Later, he had tried to incite conflict between the Prince Xian and the Crown Prince. After finally obtaining evidence of Cao Youwei’s embezzlement, he had not even had time to act before Cao Youwei’s faction was exposed. The Crown Prince had collapsed in an instant, and all the time and effort Shen Ting had invested had come to nothing.
When Jun Dingyuan returned victorious, Shen Ting had feared that the Jun family might upset the balance of the court, so he had sent people to investigate them in secret. Yet before they could uncover anything, the Mo Shu case had erupted, and Jun Dingyuan had emerged unscathed.
With the Crown Prince overthrown, Prince Xian had become his greatest threat. Shen Ting then plotted to bring him down through the Liu family. After finally bribing one of the Crown Prince’s former retainers and learning of the corruption in Mianzhou, he had been ready to make his move—only for the locust plague to break out. Shen Zheng and Wen Zhuo had been sent to Mianzhou by imperial order, and somehow they had managed to bring Prince Xian down in the process.
He considered himself utterly devoted to his cause. More than a dozen strategists in his residence had worked day and night to devise plans for him. Yet every time he believed he had come up with a masterstroke that was certain to succeed, someone else reached the prize before him.
It was as if an invisible hand were playing with all his schemes, turning every one of them into nothing. No matter how much he struggled, it all came to naught.
Shen Ting steadied himself and said, “Could Fifth Brother have overslept? Those dog slaves failed to summon you when they should have. If you ask me, their tongues ought to be cut out!”
Although Shen Zheng had long known that Third Brother was cruel and vicious by nature, hearing him openly speak of people as though they were pigs and dogs still made him physically ill.
It further convinced him that the history books must have been tampered with.
Wen Zhuo had been born into poverty. He naturally sympathized with and pitied refugees, commoners, maids, and servants. There was no way he would assist someone like Shen Ting.
Shen Zheng replied flatly, “It had nothing to do with them. I went out of the palace.”
The matter could not really be hidden. There were too many eyes watching him within the palace, and someone with ulterior motives would surely report it to Emperor Shunyuan.
Shen He had always been careless and carefree. Upon hearing this, he immediately clicked his tongue and voiced his concern for Shen Zheng. “Good heavens, you’ve got some nerve! Ever since something happened to Eldest Brother, I haven’t even dared set foot over the threshold of Springwillow Pavilion. I’m practically sick from holding myself back, and you still dared to provoke Father’s displeasure!”
Two shallow dimples appeared on Shen Chen’s face as he said meaningfully, “You’d rather risk angering Father than stay in the palace, Fifth Brother. You truly are willing to go all out.”
Of course he knew that today was Wen Zhuo’s birthday. In his previous life, when Wen Zhuo had assisted him, Shen Chen had gone to great lengths every year to prepare a birthday gift for him. If not for Xie Langyang, he would practically have scoured the world for handsome young men and sent them all to Wen Zhuo’s bed.
Naturally, those had only been performances he forced himself to put on while swallowing his disgust.
He assumed, quite naturally, that Shen Zheng was just like him—doing everything he could to win over a eunuch’s bastard in order to secure the throne.
Shen Zheng gave him a disdainful look and said bluntly, “What’s it to you? Shut up.”
Shen Chen’s smile stiffened. The corner of his mouth twitched three times, and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. Only then did he manage to suppress the viciousness within him.
In his previous life, he had ascended the throne and become the Son of Heaven. Who under the heavens had dared speak to him like that?
Before long, Emperor Shunyuan completed the first round of worship. A eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial announced in a shrill voice that all the princes and imperial clansmen were to enter the main hall of the Hall of Ancestral Veneration. The princesses, consorts, and wives of the imperial clansmen were to stand outside along the eastern gallery.
Everyone performed the three prostrations. The ritual official solemnly read the prayer text, and the princes and imperial clansmen held sticks of sandalwood as they stepped forward one after another to offer incense.
When the rites were complete, Consort Zhen, having won the emperor’s deep favor, was specially permitted to remain at Emperor Shunyuan’s side. She took out an embroidered handkerchief and gently wiped the fine sheen of sweat from his brow, her manner graceful and attentive.
A chief eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial hurried over, bent down, and whispered a few words into Emperor Shunyuan’s ear.
Upon hearing them, Emperor Shunyuan’s brows immediately drew together.
Consort Zhen quickly put on a look of surprise and raised a hand to cover her vermilion lips. “You’re saying that Fifth Prince did not participate in the ritual chant or pay his respects to Your Majesty?”
Although Emperor Shunyuan himself had not attended the dawn court audience today, he could afford to be lax. The princes could not. They still had to face the imperial throne and perform the formal ritual of greeting.
The matter could be made as serious or as minor as one wished. Consort Zhen had never expected it to be enough to bring Shen Zheng down. She merely wanted to use the opportunity to gauge Emperor Shunyuan’s reaction.
As expected, Emperor Shunyuan immediately summoned Shen Zheng before him. His eyelids twitched faintly as his dark gaze settled heavily upon Shen Zheng’s face.
“Where were you during the dawn audience?”
Shen Zheng’s expression did not change. “I went out of the palace.”
“I asked what you went out to do,” Emperor Shunyuan said, his voice sinking several degrees.
Shen Zheng had been prepared for this. He immediately lowered his head, his expression solemn, and said in a clear voice, “This son has heard that Father has had little appetite lately. Earlier, while chatting with Mother, I learned that in years past, Father once took her to Pingle Street and tried a bowl of spicy tofu soup. You praised it as appetizing, refreshing, and superb in flavor. This son thought that attending the New Year rites is a way of showing filial devotion, but helping Father eat normally is also an act of filial devotion. So I took the liberty of leaving the palace to search for that tofu soup. Who could have known that after looking all over Pingle Street, I would find not a single shop open? This son could only return empty-handed. I was unable to ease Father’s worries, and I truly feel ashamed!”
Sure enough, Emperor Shunyuan’s expression softened somewhat.
The coarse, common food sold among the people was spicy, and the imperial kitchens had never prepared such fare for the emperor.
When Emperor Shunyuan had been young and traveling throughout the realm, he had loved that particular flavor. But after ascending to the throne, weighed down by endless affairs, he had not tasted it in more than ten years. Had Shen Zheng not mentioned it, he might have forgotten it altogether.
He could never have imagined that Shen Zheng had left the palace specifically to celebrate Wen Zhuo’s birthday.
He had even assumed that Shen Zheng’s rash execution of Wen Zhuo’s younger brother in defiance of the imperial decree would cause Wen Zhuo to become estranged from him.
Of course, that was merely his own speculation. After all, he had no desire to discuss the reason behind the decree in detail with Wen Zhuo.
After a while, Emperor Shunyuan finally reproached him. “Though your intentions were filial, you were far too unruly! How can the New Year rites handed down by our ancestors be altered at your whim? You truly live up to the courtesy name Bulu of yours. After tonight’s family banquet, you will kneel in the Hall of Ancestral Veneration and reflect on your mistakes. You may rise only when it is time to keep vigil through the night. Is that clear?”
Shen Zheng’s expression did not change. “This son understands!”
Consort Zhen listened to all of this, and her heart sank.
Though the emperor had punished Shen Zheng by ordering him to kneel in the hall and reflect on his conduct, it was merely a show. He had no intention of investigating the matter seriously. He had not even planned to take back the plate of pea cakes he had bestowed earlier.
Most importantly, Shen Zheng was not being made to kneel outside in full view of everyone. Instead, he would kneel before the imperial ancestors, preserving his dignity.
Only the future Crown Prince would require such consideration.
Consort Zhen’s thoughts descended into chaos. Liu Quan, however, seemingly without meaning to, glanced at the brush-holding eunuch, his eyes carrying a hint of warning.
Once the family sacrificial rites in the Hall of Ancestral Veneration were complete, the emperor and the princes still had to proceed to the Imperial Ancestral Temple for the state sacrificial ceremony. According to protocol, the women could not accompany them or participate any further.
The group was making its way outside when a string of light, lively footsteps suddenly came from the eastern side hall. A little girl with twin buns, dressed in a soft pale-yellow robe, came charging over as recklessly as a firecracker.
With an innocent smile on her face, she called out in her crisp voice, “Father! Mother!”
When she noticed Shen Zheng standing beside Emperor Shunyuan, she first looked him over curiously, then performed a proper bow and greeted him in her soft, childish voice. “Fifth Brother.”
The little girl was just over ten years old. Shen Zheng searched his memory and finally recalled the name of Consort Zhen’s daughter. His eyes curved into a smile. “Zhaoyue?”
“Yes!” Princess Zhaoyue nodded vigorously.
Naturally, only someone she took a liking to could make her behave so properly.
Shen Zheng had been sent to Nanping as a hostage when she was only two, so she had no memories of him. After he returned to the palace, she was often ill and confined to Consort Zhen’s residence to recuperate. They had had few opportunities to meet.
Emperor Shunyuan reached out and patted Zhaoyue on the head, smiling as he said, “How reckless. As a princess, how can you run about so carelessly? Do you want to be punished like your Fifth Brother as well?”
Emperor Shunyuan had five daughters. Three had already married and left the palace, while one had died young. Zhaoyue was the only one remaining, and he naturally doted on her.
Unfortunately, according to the historical records of the Qian dynasty, this princess would meet the most tragic fate of them all.
Zhaoyue secretly lifted her head and stole a glance at Shen Zheng before asking in a small voice, “Was Fifth Brother punished by Father?”
A girl of ten or so would be no more than an elementary school student in the modern world. Shen Zheng could not resist teasing her. “Yes, I was. Why don’t you plead with Father on Fifth Brother’s behalf?”
“All right!” Zhaoyue agreed without the slightest hesitation, nodding hard. “Father—”
Consort Zhen’s heart jolted with alarm. She hurriedly snapped, “How presumptuous! What sort of occasion do you think this is? How can you make such a scene here? Nanny, take the princess away at once!”
After being scolded by her mother, Zhaoyue immediately pouted in grievance. She obediently allowed the nanny responsible for teaching her proper etiquette to lead her away.
When no one was paying attention, Consort Zhen shot Shen Zheng a vicious glare.
Emperor Shunyuan, however, did not take it to heart. Instead, he found the scene warm and heartwarming. He waved a hand and said, “There is no need to be so strict with Zhaoyue. I rather like her temperament—innocent and carefree. What could be better?”
Consort Zhen bit her lip and answered softly, “Yes. This concubine understands.”
The afternoon passed in a blur, with everyone so busy that their feet barely touched the ground. By the evening banquet, Emperor Shunyuan was already weary. He took only a few bites before ordering his carriage back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He merely instructed everyone else to enjoy themselves and gather again at the second watch of the night to keep vigil until dawn.
Outside the hall, lanterns shone brilliantly. Groups of three or five gathered together, some feasting and drinking, others chatting idly. The atmosphere was lively.
Shen Chen, however, had no time for merriment. In his quarters, he quietly calculated the advantages and disadvantages of every faction.
Bu Zhangyi had been imprisoned, Gu Weizhi had assumed the post of acting Minister of Revenue, and Tang Guangzhi had fallen from power. Xie Langyang had taken advantage of the opportunity to seize control of the Ministry of Personnel.
At present, three members of the Grand Secretariat—Gong Zhiyuan, Luo Mingpu, and Xie Langyang—were all on his side. Shang Zhiqin had lost Prince Xian and could no longer stir up any trouble. With Gong Zhiyuan advising Liu Chenming, Liu Chenming would sooner or later turn toward him as well. Holding the Grand Secretariat in his hands, he certainly had the strength to contend for the throne.
But Shen Zheng had the emperor’s favor, the support of the Yongning Marquis’s Residence, and Wen Zhuo’s counsel. Now he had even won the goodwill of Duke Liu. His influence within the military was clearly substantial, making him an extremely troublesome opponent.
The situation was more urgent than in his previous life. He had to sever Shen Zheng’s right-hand and left-hand men as quickly as possible.
At present, only Xie Langyang could eliminate Wen Zhuo. Unfortunately, Xie Langyang still clung to unrealistic hopes and was difficult to make use of. He would first have to extinguish every last one of those hopes.
Shen Chen’s gaze slowly rose inch by inch until he was staring fixedly at the bright-yellow roof of the palace hall. The dense night seeped into his eyes, brewing into a pool of ink.
He stepped outside, adjusted his expression, and went to Gong Jinjin’s room. He pulled her into his arms, his face filled with deep affection. “Jinjin, there is something I need to ask your younger sister to do.”
The snow had stopped, and the moon shone clear.
Shen Zheng left the palace banquet alone. He had already changed out of his ceremonial robes and, treading through the heavy night, headed straight for the Hall of Ancestral Veneration.
Jun Mulan caught up with him and stopped him in the covered corridor. She asked bluntly, “Tell your mother the truth. Where did you go today?”
Shen Zheng had no intention of hiding it from her, so he admitted it frankly. “It was my teacher’s birthday. I went to give him a gift.”
Jun Mulan’s brows relaxed slightly. She raised a hand and patted him on the shoulder, her voice carrying a hint of approval. “You respect your teacher and value your obligations. Your mother naturally understands that. But the New Year court rites are a state ceremony. Even if you congratulated Director Wen two days late, with his broad-minded nature, how could he take offense?”
Shen Zheng could not help remembering Wen Zhuo with his eyes reddened as he leaned toward him that afternoon. He remembered Wen Zhuo wrapping his arms around his neck in panic and leaving a paw print on the branch. He remembered the way Wen Zhuo had clasped his palm and whispered his thanks.
The corners of Shen Zheng’s lips lifted despite himself. “He would never take offense. I simply didn’t want to miss it—not even for a single second.”
His expression must have been far too obvious. Jun Mulan, being someone with experience, felt her heart jolt.
She remembered Shen Zheng once saying that he had someone he liked. Her gaze abruptly turned complicated as she asked tentatively, “You seem to care about Director Wen even more than your mother ever advised you to.”
“He had a difficult childhood, and his mind is more sensitive than most. We ought to pay him a little more attention.” Shen Zheng lowered his head and lightly adjusted the leather belt at his waist. His eyes were even clearer and brighter than the moonlight. “Enough of that. It’s cold outside, Mother. You should go back. I’m in good health—I’ll be fine.”
“You…” Jun Mulan gazed at his retreating figure, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Within the Hall of Imperial Ancestors, the candlelight glimmered dimly. Shen Zheng gathered up his robe and sank to his knees upon the cold golden bricks, his back held perfectly straight.
As the night deepened, the sound of the night watch echoed from beyond the hall. At first, he remained calm and composed, feeling only the chill slowly seep into his bones. Gradually, a dense, prickling pain began to burrow through him, drawing a sharp gasp from his lips. Later, the blood flow in his lower limbs stagnated until they went completely numb. He could only shift occasionally, doing his best to ease the discomfort.
There was no brazier in the hall, and barely any warmth at all. Frost-laden air streamed continuously through the cracks in the doors. Yet cold sweat beaded at Shen Zheng’s temples and trickled down the side of his neck.
He let out a low laugh and mocked himself. “Lucky I’m young. Otherwise, cartilage damage in the knees, bursitis, muscle strain… I wouldn’t escape a single one of them. Ancient times really were… cruel to people.”
He considered himself exceptionally adaptable. Ever since transmigrating into this world, he had done his best to inhabit his role and conduct himself according to the rules of Great Qian and the structure of imperial power.
Yet on occasion, in the stillness of the deep night, he could not help but resent the constraints and exploitation that the imperial system imposed upon everyone. Under such a system, anyone who benefited from it today would sooner or later suffer its backlash. No one could escape.
The hall was empty. Only Shen Zheng remained, facing the heavy ancestral tablets—symbols of supreme authority, belonging to figures who had once been illustrious and were now nothing more than withered bones.
A few absurd thoughts suddenly came to him. If these imperial ancestors knew that the solemn and majestic Forbidden City, the palace complex once regarded as forbidden ground, would one day be open to visitors for forty yuan a ticket, and that all those rites and regulations held up as sacred standards for governing human lives would be rendered void, would they be so furious that they climbed out of their graves?
In the end, they had all been nothing more than flesh and blood.
The pain in his knees grew sharper. He gave a soft cough, then simply closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift toward Wen Zhuo.
It was New Year’s Eve, and also Wen Zhuo’s birthday. What was the Little Cat Traitor doing at this moment?
He was probably seated around the table with Jiang Mannü and Liu Qiying, eating steaming-hot dumplings and drinking sweet, fragrant soup.
He had seen how many dishes Liu Qiying had prepared. With Wen Zhuo’s small appetite, they would have enough to eat for seven or eight days.
Though it was also possible that Jiang Mannü had already devoured it all.
What a pity that he knew nothing about sweets and could not even remember how to make a cake. Wen Zhuo loved sweet things so much. If he could receive a birthday cake, his eyes would surely light up with delight.
Wen Zhuo was contrary by nature, though. Even when his heart was overflowing with joy, he would insist on keeping a solemn expression. Only his ears would betray his feelings.
To make Wen Zhuo fully lower his guard, open his heart to him, and honestly express what he felt would take quite a bit of effort.
At the thought, Shen Zheng could not help smiling. The pain of kneeling gradually became easier to bear.
He cast the entire hall of ancestors from his mind, turning his head to gaze through the translucent roof tiles at the moon-drenched sky.
He had memorized so many poems in the past, treating them merely as material for examinations. Only now did he suddenly understand what “May we both be blessed with longevity, though separated by a thousand miles, sharing the beauty of the same moon” truly meant.
At that moment, a figure wrapped up in layers of fur stood beneath the pear tree in the Wen residence.
After finishing dinner, Wen Zhuo had wandered alone into the courtyard.
The sound of firecrackers rose and fell through the streets, shattering the stillness of the winter night. Yet he was not once more pursued by nightmares or dragged back into hell.
He raised his head to gaze at the bright moon above. The evening breeze passed by, setting the waxen blossoms on the branches trembling faintly.
Without meaning to, he recalled the breath Shen Zheng had exhaled against his ear while teaching him to ride; the teasing laugh Shen Zheng had given him in the bath as he spread his arms for inspection; and the way their fingers had intertwined upon the couch at Liu’s residence, followed by the light kiss that came sweeping in afterward.
Shen Zheng loved to tease him, yet whenever he broke down, Shen Zheng would soothe him. Like water finding every crack, he awakened the feelings Wen Zhuo had sealed away, bringing him pleasure and making him lose himself.
He wondered how things were in the palace at that moment.
He missed Shen Zheng so much.
Wen Zhuo raised a hand and pinched one of the branches, then bent down to breathe in its fragrance.
